The Sunday herald., 1887-01-23
OUR NEW YORK LETTER.
Dan Lanout Nud tho Newspapers
Theatrical aud Personal Chat.
lsrecIal Correspondonce.l

l>reclal Correspondence
NEw YORK, January 20, tssi
am told that there Ia pretty Kettle of scandal
brewing In the little town OF stanford, tom, ana
that tho morse will he ready for the public digestion
In very few weeks. The parties who are said 10
be involved are the minister VI very fashionable
Connecticut city church and the wife OF once
prominent nnanccr, who seeks the consolation bf
religious association during the absence OF her hus.
band In States prison. The members OF the church
are fairly bsing Win indignation at the bold con.
duct Of the two, and suppose they will boil over dl.
rectly and share their knowledge or suspicion with
less charitable world. Already New York news
paper reporters are on the scent Of the scandal and
| think they may be trusted to run 1t to earth.
When they do they will have secured another, and,
1t is to be hoped, inal CHAPTER OF big series OF
scandals involving some very proud names and
prominent persons-at one time.
have grave suspicion that Aldermen Jachne
and McQuade Will soon have companion In Sing
Sing in the person OF Alderman o'Nen. lie is the
person who did not think 1t worth while to engage
counsel 10 defend him until his case was called for
trial. He got an adjournment on that ground, and
subsequently second extension OF time; but In
stead OF employing the time allotted to him prepar.
ing his defense, the man has really been endeavorng
to induce some newspapers to publish a mass Of
rubbish regarding District Attorney Marines hum.
ole origin man claiming to speak for o'Neil
called to regae me with the trash, and was very
much astonshed 10 learn that thought Mr.. oNen
might better employ his time devising means to
prove his own good character, rather than In de.
flaming the District Attorneys ancestors.
II Is said that President Cleveland has something
akin to a sublime contempt for newspaper opinions
and believe that on one or two occasions after the
walnuts aud the wine at public dinners he has ex-
pressed his feelings. But he has near him faith.
ful henchman who takes a more sensible view Of
the subject. mean Col Dan Lamont. The Colo
mel Is Just now busiy engaged In taking census of
the newspapers which have In any terms expressed
themselves as favorable to President Ceveands re.
nomination. lie seems. from certain evidences re.
ceived IN this city, to be particularly anxious about
the opinions Of papers In this state.
There is another to be added to the long lis. Of
failures OF English actors and actresses and PLAYS In
this country. Some OF these imposltons have been
simply dreadful. At wallack's an English author
and actor combined In the person of MIR. Hamilton
has been signally unsuccessful with bad plays and
worse acting Rosina vokess s"Schoolmistress" was
dreary piece OF nonsense, and failed, as I have
already detailed. Miss Violet Cameron was an early
blight, and Miss May Fortescue was quite as wearl-
some as an actress and positive failure as beauty
Now we have Miss Helen Hastings, with play
called "Pen and INK" whom j. NJ. Hill has inflicted
on the long.suiTering patrons Of the Union Square
Theatre, at which Hill persists in presenting Mar
garet Mather as Juliet for six mortal weeks at a
stretch. Miss Mather some time ago began TO ap.
proach an age which better hts her to play the
Nurse than Juliet, but MIR. Hill does not seem to
recognize her advancement iu this respect. His In
fiction on us of Helen Hastings In "Pen and INK
is an ofense too heinous to he overlooked, and the
critics have not overlooked it. Both actress and
play got such drnbbing at their hands as should
have warned her to follow Violet Camerons ex.
| ample and return to Cockneydom, where her lost
"h's' would not be missed. MIR. Hill escapes the
| eScoriaton he richly deserves for putting Miss
Hastings forward: and, understand, he disclams
any responsibility for her appearance, she leased
the theatre But Mr.. Hill owes something to the
reputation Of the house he manages, and this obi-
CATION he totally dsregards Since Palmer left the
theatre and Hill took charge of 1t the house has
completely changed its character, and even Mod
| jessa could not draw good and critical audiences
| to the once popular home OF the meodrama.
| My patriotic spirit recently inclined me to wrilc
something akin to panegyric about American
dramatists and their plays, but am forced to admit
that may have been little premature in view of
the recent failures Of American writers OF alleged
comedies and dramas Mr.. Howe,ls's play OF IA
Foregone Conclusion" was merely critical success.
The critics said it was very fine writing, beautiful
delineaton of character, and all that but the man
| sger caught nobody in the audience weeping, de-
tected nobody laughing, and, having an instructive
dislike for the limited audiences that enjoy purely
| Intellectual entertainment, he put the piece on nc
| more. Mr.. Brander Matthews's play OF "Marories
Loves the second Of Mr.. A. NJ. Palmer's trials o
new American plays, has something more OF the
popular vein and good deal less of the intellectual
fibre than "a Foregone Conclusion had; but 1t wa!
defective In that sit tried to create sympathy the
| part Of the audience with people about whom
| nobody of reasonable common sense would care tt
| express any sentiment. Mr. Bronson Howard'
comedy OF "Met by Chance" which was produce,
| at the Lyceum Theatre-a cheap chrome imitation
Of the Madison Square holy show-was also sigma
failure. 1t was n desperate effort Of tine author
who has previously snned in similar manner
though on smaller scale-to make combination o
the artistic aud sentimental effects OF story; bu
on this occasion he made tho sentiment 80 thor
oughly subordinate TO the theatrical effects that IN
first was lost sight Of aud the latter moi sunl
Client to carry the interest throughout.
The truth is that the American drama OF recen
production is failure, with one exception, an
that one drama is upon the theme which ever
manager 10 New York will tell You ia tabeoed-th
Civil War. But, as matter of fact, "Hed by tn
Enemy" is the only American drama produced thi
season which has succeeded or deserved to succeed
II is fair, manly, picturesque drama of real life o
twenty-five years ago, and Its success was enforce
by the power which lies In its truthfulness and ear
nestness The only other American drama wort
mentioning at all-and only to be mentioned TO b
! condemned is Keller's "Tangled Lves,"in whic
that worst Of all the imported English actors RobeI
J b. Mante, appears. How any manager of comno
sense could consent to produce this nrst-class piec
Of idlOcy Is more than l can conceive. 1t is to b
withdrawn shortly. Mr.. Keller, the author, was fo
some time the editor of the Dramatic Ne,rs-bette
known as the blackmaling gazette Of the theatrici
profession-but having edited tinto bankruptcy an
delivered 1t over under mortgage to Its enemies
Mr. Keller recently retired from Its Management
| IIar aIIa In a1ian
mis-nanager.
! Augustin DAILY Is probably OF all the managers
the city OF New York the most consderate of hi
public; he Is also the most considerate OF his con
pany. II Is a matter OF pride with him to show III
public that his company can play anything-mOder
or shakespearean, melodramatic or purely com
n He has probably the most expensive company
New York. Certainly almost any one of his prime
pal people could better afford to "star" than ha
the "sars" that are on the road. lie illustrated h
belief In the versatility OF his company night befor
last by producing the most dItiicult Of all Shake
pearean plays to properly illustrate and proper
d perform. To have performed any one OF the cha
acters In this piece was TO have demonstrated
great amount OF intelligence upon the part OF II
performer. That they did perform In a perfe
manner Is not TO be attributed solely to their ind
yidualabilities. Everybody In the audience reco
n nized that, while each individual had his exec
| lenclcs, the whole performance was to he credited
r some one person. Whether that person IL Mr.. Da
or whether it is Miss Rehan is problem that IL o.
n cupying many minds In the city. But neither MI
Rehan nor Mr.. DAILY would admit for one mome
that such question should exist, for both are
= closely In cooperation In the development OF the
art that all attempts on the part Of some people
anagonlze them will never succeed.
WILLIAM Y. q. SnASKs.
THE CRIIISE or THE IROOIJOIS